Insurance Provider Shares Entertaining Reasons for Claims Involving Dogs, and We Can All Relate

U.K. and Canadian insurance provider Aviva has revealed some of the claims submitted by policyholders with dogs, and most of us pet parents can relate. According to the carrier, dogs have been a factor in close to 4,000 accidental damage claims over the past five years. They include instances ranging from damaged laptops to damaged dentures, and they all had one thing in common: their dogs were to blame — or at least being blamed.

Almost any dog owner has had at least one pair of their favorite shoes devoured at some point in life, so none of this should come as a surprise. Between the beginning of 2018 and the end of 2022, 3,825 claims crossed the desks of Aviva insurance agents involving dogs with an average cost of £1,200 (USD 1,422.65) attached. Some cost as much as or more than five figures, while the most expensive claims generally involved jewelry and timepieces.

Naughty Dogs

But in addition to jewelry and watches, more personal items like hearing aids (more than 100 claims in five years) and dentures were also on the long list of goods that needed replacing.

The policyholder whose teeth went missing had removed their dentures and placed them on the arm of the chair they were sitting in before dozing off, only to wake and find that their dog had snacked on them. For those of you who aren’t aware, dentures can be pricey and the pet parent was likely irate when they discovered the gnarled remnants of their pearly whites.

Some of the claims, however, were for losses incurred while walking their pets, such as wallets and other items, and one customer even claimed to have lost their wedding ring as they were tossing a ball with their dog. Another reported their 126-pound Rottweiler broke their cell phone by stepping on it.

Pet-Related Insurance Claims

And damages weren’t limited to smaller items. Many of them were connected to the home. For instance, one pup knocked a can of paint over on a staircase and then proceeded to walk through it, leaving a meandering trail of paw prints across the carpeting. Another doggo managed to ruin a couch and rug after chewing through an ink pen they’d found laying about. There was also a claim for a damaged floor after a dog knocked an iron off an ironing board.

Dogs have also been blamed for damaging pool liners and destroying hot tubs just by jumping up, on, or in them.

Insurance Coverage

According to Kelly Whittington, property claims director at Aviva U.K., “Many home insurance policies include an exclusion for damage caused by chewing, scratching, tearing or fouling by domestic animals. Cover may be provided under the optional personal belongings section, but it is important that customers check their policy wording and cover.”

If you have homeowners or renters insurance, you might want to check your policy to see what it actually covers after reading this.